Thursday, June 11, 2009

2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft

The Major League Baseball draft never gets the attention that the other major sports yet. With the NFL and NBA drafts, you will see players that will make an immediate impact on their teams. In baseball, a drafted players may not make the club for another few years.

This year's draft is a little different with the hype surrounding Stephen Strasburg from San Diego State. However, from this year's draft, I will be following Kyle Gibson from the University of Missouri.

The Twins drafted Kyle Gibson in the first round of the draft on Tuesday. MLB.com describes Gibson in this way.

Gibson certainly looked the part of a top college starter in the early part of the season. He has three pitches he can throw for strikes in any count and he shows a lot of poise and a competitive streak on the mound. Scouts love his size at 6-foot-6, though some might worry he's a little too thin. Most look at his combination of stuff, command and mound presence and see a sure-fire first-round pick.

LaValle E. Neall III from the Star Tribune also writes more in-depth about Kyle Gibson.

To be honest, I had no idea who Kyle Gibson was until he was drafted. Unlike the other sports, there is little reporting and speculation about who a team will draft. Also unlike other sports, there are 50 rounds of players and most of them will never make never set foot on Target Field. Who knows if Gibson will even make it this far.

Here is a run down of the Twins recent first round picks (including compensation and supplemental picks) and where they are now.